Mostly Cloudy, 79° F
GNP NEWS: Volcanic Activity of La Cumbre Increases
22 April 2009
The Galapagos National Park and the Geophysics Institute will launch a scientific expedition to study the eruption.
Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) wardens stationed at the Bolivar Patrol Base on Isabela Island, across the channel from Fernandina Island, have reported that the volcanic activity of La Cumbre continues.
Meanwhile, the Geophysics Institute (GI) of the National Polytechnic Institute has informed the GNPS that satellite sensors have reported 43 thermal detections along the radial fissure at the source of the eruption, and that satellite images show a column of gas and water vapor extending more than 100 km to the west of the islands, which demonstrates an increase in the volcanic activity of the island.
Over the coming days, the GNPS and the GI will launch a joint scientific expedition to the eruption site to study the volcanic activity on Fernandina.
The expedition should make it possible to identify the eruption centers and the extension and reach of the lava flows, estimate the volume of lava that has been emitted to date, sample lava, and observe and evaluate impacts from the eruption.
Determining the parameters of the event will help to validate information collected by satellite and to improve the precision of data from the early alert system that the GI provides to the GNPS. This information will also contribute to our scientific understanding of the Galapagos Islands.
La Cumbre volcano on the island of Fernandina began to erupt on Saturday April 11, with no major risk to the animal populations near the area.
Proceso de Relaciones Públicas – Parque Nacional Galápagos – Ecuador
For more information, write to: comunicacion@spng.org.ec, or visit www.galapagospark.org
Commenting is closed for this article.
